Microscopics

Our ’Gas - Microscopic’ film has just reached the quarter million barrier on YouTube, with 250,000 full views. There are also several different versions on YouTube as well as popping up on other video sites.

View film on YouTube…

The short film is based on the IBM classic mixed with Microscopic, from the (Bob Katz approved) remaster of the Gas 0095 album.

Gas - Microscopic free downloads…
High Quality DivX version (190mb)
Quicktime/ iPod version (60mb)
Microscopic - remastered full mp3 (14mb)

 .

Flat pictures of cartoon clouds on a flat map to represent the weather is too easy. Now you can check the weather by flying through it.

Head to bing.com/maps, click the 3D button, switch to aerial view, enter your home town in the search, then use Control (Command) with your mouse or the side buttons to change the angle of view. You may also want to turn off Labels. Use the cursor buttons or an Xbox controller to fly through the impressively full 3D clouds.

Of course, this is only in real time, so you can’t predict the weather for tomorrow, but you can check the weather at the beach you’re going to visit later. You could also look out the window, but this is more fun.

Microscopics headquarters. Click image to zoom in…

Check your settings are correct. Go to Options>3D Settings, and make sure ‘Show local weather’ is ticked. You can also hit F11 to go fullscreen (F11 to get back again).

3D Fly-through works in Firefox 2 & 3, IE6, 7 & 8, and Safari 2 & 3 on the Mac, but not Chrome, yet.

UPDATE: The weather is based on 14 cloud types, updated every 3 hours.

You can also visit some cities in full 3D  too…

New York. Click image to zoom in…

.

Akai LLC have trademarked the term ‘Sampler’. Well they did, judging from this old Akai sampler advert…

Click to enlarge.
image courtesy of synthmuseum.com

We checked an international trademark database and they don’t own it now, so it has either lapsed or they were never granted it in the first place.

So if they did still own the term, what would we be calling samplers today?  Digital Emulation Recorder?  Instrument Recorders?  Digital Musicians?  Carbon Recorders?

.

The winner of this months free CD draw for subscribers and customers is L.B. from USA.

And as an existing customer of the Gas 0095 MP3 version,  he is free to chose from the CD or  24 bit Flac, or a credit for a future release.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter to be in with a chance of winning this month. Remember that you can double you chances by adding a comment to the blog each month.

Subscribe now…

…

Our posts for today all have a space theme.
Here are a few pics of contenders for the next Space Shuttle…

Continue reading…

NASA and Paragon are designing a new spacesuit.

Paragon has received authorization to begin work on NASA’s Constellation Space Suit System (CSSS). Paragon is beginning this work on the first major space suit redesign in over 40 years. Paragon is responsible for the design and manufacture of the suit’s life support and thermal control system. The first suits will support the debut flight of the new Orion spaceship, currently planned to launch in 2015. With modifications, the suit will go on to be used exploring the surface of the Moon and Mars.

To watch the two-part video and interview visit Engineering TV…

Here is a time-lapse animation of the ISSs progress.

Click image to view animation

The winner of our first monthly draw for subscribers and customers is A.A from West Virginia, USA!

And as an existing customer of the Gas 0095 CD, which includes the MP3 version, he is free to chose from a 24 bit Flac version, a credit for a future release, or another copy on CD.

Subscribe to our occasional newsletter to be in with a chance of winning this month. Remember that you can double you chances by adding a comment to the blog each month.

Subscribe now…

UPDATE: A.A chose a credit for a future release.

…

 Just Can’t Get Enough is an innocent and jaunty, electro-pop single from Depeche Mode’s first album, and Wrong is a dark, world-weary and introspective electro-pop single from their latest album. So, ‘Wrong‘ verses ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’, Martin Gore verses Vince Clarke, which contains the most repeated word?

Just Can’t Get Enough repeats the word ‘just‘ 54 times, but Wrong out does it with a repeat count of 69 for the word ‘wrong‘, so is the clear winner. (Count includes title)

Depeche Mode have just out repeated themselves. 

At this rate, and based on my sample size of two songs, by 2038 they’ll be up to 84 repeated words in a song.

Videos after the break…

Continue reading…

Here is a copy of Down-tempo.net’s review of Gas 0095. We don’t know what it says as it’s mostly in French, but it gets five stars so we hope it’s good.

Gas à effet
Les disques du label Em:t sont depuis le début rangés à part. Pour commencer il s’agit de Digipak, classieux avant l’heure, avec une charte visuelle novatrice ( que l’on doit à Designers Republic - responsables quelques années plus tard du « mauve Warpien » ) et décrite quelque part sur ce site.
Experiments on live electricity empruntait les chemins ambient et Aphex Twinien de Selected Ambient Works avec des nappes crépusculaires, des nuances de gris de vert et de bleu. Une construction ( plutot qu’une progression) méticuleuse (microscopic) portée par l’exploitation du format numérique dans ses grandes largeurs ( Roland RSS sound expander, 70 minutes passionnantes) . Le housy Earthshake avec ses pulsations un peu plus appuyées réveillait un peu les consciences endormies et les corps léthargiques. En miroir et vent debout EarthLoop défendait une suite introspective et virevoltante où Gaia de the Orb et Space des Klf n’étaient jamais très loin. Bref on était transporté complètement ailleurs. Que dire de cette ressortie en téléchargement douze ans après? Que la magie opère toujours aussi bien. Que le son ( putain, le son!) tout en étant plus « mat » que le Cd original est tout bonnement excellent ( 320k – VBR pour les techies). Que c’est un Mp3 que vous pourrez écouter sur un gros sound system sans avoir à rougir d’une piètre enveloppe ou craindre des craquements inhérents au format mp3 ( d’ordinaire assez pourri il faut bien que cela soit dit).
Que dire encore ? Dire surtout que vous allez devenir fan.
Le label Microscopics ( aux fourneaux de l’arty-ambient depuis que Em:t nouvelle formule a déposé le bilan après plus de deux ans de promotion d’artistes nouveaux ( High Skies, gel Sol ) et un fantastique come-back (International Peoples gang)) s’offre un bon départ.
L’ambient ainsi dématérialisée n’a jamais été aussi essentielle.

Erik
Note du chroniqueur : (5/5)